Citizenship can be defined in the words of Laski, “Is the contribution of one’s instructed judgment to the public good”. Thus, a citizen who enjoys certain rights and privileges owes allegiance to a state and contributes to the public good through creative judgment. The word ‘citizen’ can be traced back to Greek city-states when Aristotle defined a citizen as “He who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration is said by us to be a citizen of that state.
Also Read: Equality – Dimension, and Relation with Liberty and Justice
Duty – Theories and Major Duties
Duty – Significance and Relation with Rights
Nature of Citizenship
People not only elect the government, which represents the state and is the legal manifestation of the state but also the very basis of the state. Hence, the state and the people share a special relationship that is multi-layered and diverse. All laws, rules, and regulations made by the state are about the people. It is the people who give legitimacy to the state, and without legitimacy, it would be difficult for the state to function properly.
Legitimacy ensures that the state will function for the welfare of the people. The legitimacy can also be defined in the words of Robert A. Dahl, “If the people to whom its orders are directed to believe that the structure, procedures, acts, decisions, policies, officials or leaders of government possess the quality of rightness, property or moral goodness the right, in short, to make binding rules.”
Significance of Citizenship
With democracy becoming a popular form of government, the importance of the people has risen. Thus, citizens are one of the important elements of the state. It is the people, their collective nature, and their thinking that determines the nature of a state. It is in respect of people that laws and rules are framed. Moreover, people are increasingly participating in the governmental processes and that is not limited to the election time only.
Person vs Alien
Citizenship is acquired by fulfilling certain conditions and criteria as laid down by a particular state and hence, citizenship does not mean that all people living in the state are citizens. For example, natural citizenship is granted to all those present who are already citizens. While some states grant automatic citizenship to persons who have been born in their territory even if their parents are not citizens of that state. Another is that of acquired one whereby a person asks for citizenship, it is the discretion of the state whether it gives or not.
However, there are several people living in a state who are not citizens, are called Alien. Though they are granted some rights like that of life and fair deal, they do not enjoy the rights at par with citizens. Certain rights like that right to vote are not given to them. Residents’ aliens are those who live in a state for some period and they leave the state. They might have come for business or study or any such purpose. They might ask for citizenship, which the resident state may or may not grant.
There is another category of alien who come for some period and then leave for their country. Diplomatic representatives, ambassadors, ministers, commissioners, counsels, and other staff attached a with the Embassy are included in this category. But they are different from other aliens in the sense that they are entitled to certain privileges and immunities. These could not be taken away as they are in the jurisdiction of the state to which they belong.
Hence, citizenship gave certain rights to its citizens with a constitutional guarantee.